Just A Day
by PenguinsWillReignSupreme
Summary: They’d had their night, their moment, and now it was the end.


**A/N: I own nothing you recognise. Title taken from the song of the same name by **_**Feeder.**_

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**Just A Day**

July was the perfect time for it. The sun drifted through the tips of the forest, crawling its way reluctantly to bed like a child who had tried its utmost to see the night through. Its rays waved lazily across the grounds like a farewell kiss until it disappeared into the obscurity of the horizon. A lone, lazy hand reached out for the orb from her elongated position on the ground but the sun did not show its shining face again and the hand's owner sighed. The evening breeze was cool and cut across her like the cruel pizzicato of a solemn violin, a whistling reminder that the future was knocking impatiently on her door and would not wait forever. Andromeda brought her hand back down, resting atop her flat stomach, and closed her eyes. The gentle rustling of the leaves around her, the occasional crack of a stick, the ringing of voices, all of them were pressed to the back of her mind. She only had one focus and that was to spend her last night as a carefree student in peace.

"Oi, oi!"

Whoever had invented sod's law ought to have been shot. She did not lift an eyelid to the racket in the hope that whoever it was would leave her alone but the soft _thump_ as the owner of the deep voice plonked down beside her rattled down her ear and she sighed. Squinting out of her right eye, the bulky outline of one of the Prewett boys came to view and she pushed the hair in her face away. She rolled over onto her stomach and rested her hands on her arms as she stared at the redheaded boy at her side. The dusting of freckles stood out more against his pale skin, his brown eyes shining in the fading light.

"All right?" she asked with a lazy yawn, letting her eyes flutter shut for a moment. There was a further tickle of footsteps and with a yelp, Andromeda found herself being swept up in the arms of Gideon Prewett. He grinned cheekily and with surprising pace for someone carrying a nine-stone woman in his arms, made his way down to the lake. "No. Gideon, no!" The redhead grinned and hovered her over the edge with a glint in his eye. "You do this and I'll tell Alice about that time I found you with Callista Crouch in the dungeons." At that, the redhead's eyes widened and he moved to put her down.

"Oh, what? I was looking forward to that!" the almost identical voice of Gideon's brother echoed as Andromeda was put back on her feet. Dusting herself down, she scowled at the figure making his way towards them and gave Gideon a shove. "Mate, Alice wants you upstairs. Said something about owing her?" Fabian informed him. His brother frowned, looked thoughtfully at the castle and shrugged, walking away without saying another word. The two remaining seventh-years watched his figure retreat and then followed without a single note of conversation passing between them. The darkness was falling quickly around them and Andromeda realised with a jolt that it was probably the latest she'd stayed out, and thus long past curfew. "I wouldn't worry," Fabian muttered kindly as she hurried her pace. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed affectionately. "It's the last day. They can't exactly give us detention."

With a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, the realisation that this _was_ the end hit her and she paused. Sliding away from Fabian's grasp, she swept around him and back up to the wall of the castle that she had previously been lying beside. Her imprint was still stained on the grass and she crept into the position once more, as though she had never been disturbed. Tucking her hands behind her head, she waited for her friend to take his place at her side. Obediently, he lay parallel to her, his arms loose at his sides and playing absentmindedly with the hem of his robes.

"Last day," Andromeda murmured, the words tasting dry on her lips. The gentle ripple of the grass told her Fabian was nodding in agreement and she watched the night sky dim again in front of her. "Aren't you scared?" she asked, moving her hands to her sides and turning her head to see him closer. He was staring straight up, right at the row of stars that were beginning to trickle through the curtain of deep blue that overcame them quicker than they'd expected. "Fabian?"

"How's Ted?" he muttered in response, his hands pulling at the grass between his fingers. She rolled onto her side, resting her head on her hand and smiled.

"He's fine. Still at the Apothecary."

"Good," the response came, quick and sharp like the point of an arrow. He tipped his head slightly to meet her gaze. "Everything going -"

"Don't," she warned, turning her head away again. She focused on a tree at the edge of the forest, far in the distance but close enough to pretend she found interesting. It buzzed with life; with flies and midges and birds that flew in and out and would continue to do so for years to come. This, to them, was home and they could stay until their dying day. It wasn't fair that she had to leave. It wasn't.

"Dromeda?"

She knew how close he was behind her. His movements had been subtle but not quiet enough, and without looking around she knew that one slight rock backwards would land her in the arms of the pursuer she'd spent the past three years trying to flee.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded in a low hiss that she had picked up from her sister. It sounded cruel and manic in Bella's voice but in her own soft slur, it was meek and ineffective. She sounded like a stroppy child compared to her sister's artful mastery of digging for dirt. There was no response except his gentle breaths on her back. "You didn't even bat an eyelid until Ted came along."

"Not true," he corrected as though someone had scorched him. His tone was heavy with uncertainty and a small voice cried out from somewhere deep within a part of him that he had tried to shut away so many times: _it's the last day. Just do it. Tell her._ "I want -" he began but the words sounded stupid now and he tied his lips up again with the same old cemented inability to explain that he always ran into. "Doesn't matter."

The ground whispered beneath him as he rolled onto his back again. His hands toyed with a hole in his robes and he made a mental note to ask Molly to fix it as soon as he got home. His mother would only tell him off for being as careless as ever if she saw it.

"You didn't answer my question," Andromeda said, interrupting his thought process. "Are you scared about leaving?" She didn't turn to face him, merely yanked a dandelion from its home and twirled it around with elegant fingers. The lights from inside cast odd shadows across their lithe outlines and the weed danced in her grasp.

"Scared –" he replied slowly, "About real life?" He tilted his gaze to watch her head move forward in a nod. "No. I'm ready." He closed his eyes, determined to muffle the tiny voice that was screaming maddeningly at him now. The cries of 'shut up' that he tried to smother it with did nothing and he found himself blurting out, "But about leaving you?" with a wince. Cringing at himself, he nonetheless carried on going, knowing that now he'd dug himself into this trap, there was no getting out. "I've never been so terrified in all my life." Her body stiffened and he groaned angrily as he felt the tears rippling beneath his eyelids. "I didn't…Merlin, Dromeda, look at what you _do_ to me! I'm a fucking WRECK."

He hastily wiped his eyes but she made no move. She hadn't expected it. She knew he was attracted to her but so were a lot of people. Since Ted had left school last year, she'd had offer after offer from classmates and others who wanted to take his not-yet-vacated place. Fabian had joked and laughed; he'd tried to kiss her and convince her to dump Ted but she'd thought he'd been _kidding._ The tears slipped from under her closed eyelashes and she exhaled deeply. Slowly, and after a short deliberation, she turned back flat against the ground to see him lying at her side. Whilst her tears streamed readily down her cheeks, his bubbled around his eyes and she gasped as his freckled, soft hand teased its way around her own.

They slipped together with ease, their fingers locking together firmly. The pressure they applied to each other's grip wasn't forceful or subtle. It was somewhere around 'just right' and she felt a lump in her throat when she thought about how much warmer his grasp was than Ted's. She found herself shuffling towards him and he shook his head. Slowly, he pulled himself up to a sitting position and then tugged her up too. Without a word passing between them and barely breaking the eye contact, she swung her legs under her and knelt towards him.

She did not hesitate and all sense of uncertainty was washed away as she brought her lips down on his. He tentatively reached around her to bring her closer and she released his hand to wrap her arms around his neck. Her legs found their way over his and then they were lying down as the moon shone just a crack above their heads. As her hand trailed down his cheek, she smiled into the embrace and felt her lips form a pout as he drew away from her. He imitated her caress, his hands gentle on her almost ceramic skin and she felt the smile toy on her lips again. He gently moved off her and she rolled into his hold automatically. Without saying a word, both knew it was not enough but that it would do.

The night darkened around them as the last day ticked over to the morning of departure but they did not rise. They stayed, together, held in time and place until the sun rose over the tip of the furthest end of the grounds and washed the soft waves of a new day over them. They rose and said nothing. They had had their night, their moment, and now it was the end. They had learnt their last lesson and it would stay with them until their dying days, for she could not help but love the man who taught her that betrayal was easier than she'd thought, and he died young but contentedly knowing that she'd had her happy ending because of him.

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**A/N: Fabian/Andromeda has been playing on my mind for days and I've **_**finally**_** got something I'm happy with. I'm not sure whether the ship has been done before but I've never read one. **

**All opinions and thoughts are very welcome.**


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